The Daiwa Steez is light in
Weight but not in Sophistication (continued)

Retrieve
cont'd:Not only does the Core offer
more power but the series also is faster overall than the Steez, as the Core
100MG has a 6.2:1 retrieve ratio and the Core 100MGFV has a blazing fast 7.0:1
burning retrieve. Yet when it comes to refinement and feel the Steez is
undoubtedly the smoother reel. The Metanium Mg feels a little smoother than the
Core, sacrificing a bit of weight by using bearings in the handles, but even the
Metanium cannot match the Steezís friction free feel thanks to the overwhelming
12 bearing count.

The sideplate

My
most memorable moment with the Steezís retrieve came not too long ago at Clear
Lake. In terms of weather it felt like three different days on the water, the
morning had started out dead calm and cold, with ice building up on not only the
docks but the guides on our rods. Then the early afternoon the sun came out and
it looked like a beautiful spring day, though short lived, as the late afternoon
a massive storm rolled in right over the hill. We had been fishing over the
entire lake and most of our fish had been caught with senkos and crankbaits.

Under the sideplate the spool is
revealed

As the storm rolled in we
could see curtains of rain on one side of the lake while on the other it was
completely sunny. ďBetter get in the last few casts,Ē Cal said as we began to
pack up our camera gear and tackle. We slowly drifted into a cove trying to
avoid the wind as we packed up. As we drifted into shore I spotted some thick
mats of vegetation alongside rocky walls. I cranked the area outside of the
vegetation as Cal and JIP cut off their lures. Still nothing on cranks, and I
decided to get in one more cast with a jig.

The Steez makes
use of Daiwa's
popular swept
handle design

I punched the
vegetation and a
fish exploded on
the jig before
it had a chance
to hit the
bottom! As I was
pulling the fish
out of the
vegetation it
got stuck and I
thought there is
no way Iím
getting this
fish out with
10lb
Fluorocarbon on
the Steez. The
Steez proved me
wrong however
and had the
muscle to not
only pull the
fish out but a
healthy amount
of surface
foliage along
with it. When we
boated the fish
I was further
shocked to
discover that it
was a double
digit lunker.
The Steez may
weigh in as a
lightweight but
there has been
more than one
occasion when it
proved to have
the muscle
necessary to
tussle with big
fish. (Round 2:
If you value
speed and power
above all then
the Core will be
your choice but
when it comes to
all round
retrieve feel
and refinement
the Daiwa Steez
manages to edge
out the Core
with a very
smooth and
connected feel
due to the
Dura-Loc pinion
and superior
bearing count.)

The weather
takes a bad turn
during one of
our field tests
at Clear Lake,
we could see a
curtain of rain
just outside the
cove

Drag:
Over the last year we have seen little to no degradation in the drag power of
either the Steez or the Core. Both feature quality implementations and we can
also report that both drags required absolutely no service over the past year to
maintain that level of performance. So to compare the drags we go back to the
root performance of both. The Daiwa Steez delivers 8.8lbs. of drag pressure and
the Shimano Core is able to crank out 11lbs. of pressure. The Steezís 8 disc
drag system can be adjusted in slightly smaller increments but when it comes to
smooth power the Shimano Dartanium drag still reigns supreme. (Round 3: Shimano
delivers a critical blow with their Dartanium drag which delivers a lot more
drag pressure than you would normally expect in a lightweight reel.)